Critics Claim Pay Inequity Persists in P-T and O-T Contract Deal

Physical and occupational therapists who work in New York City schools narrowly approved a controversial new contract with the Department of Education. But some remain dissatisfied, saying they'll still be paid less than many colleagues included in the union, the United Federation of Teachers.

The therapists took their complaints public last month in an open letter to Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza and Mayor Bill de Blasio in The Washington Post.

"Publicly employed OTs and PTs in most major cities including Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Boston earn the same as teachers and other professionals who serve students in Special Education," they wrote. "New York City is a glaring exception. At the top of the pay scale, OTs and PTs who work for the DOE earn $27,000 less per year and have far fewer benefits than our counterparts in the speech therapy, social work, counseling and school psychology departments."

With the new UFT contract poised to go into effect on Valentine's Day, a chapter representing several thousand therapists pressed for a better deal. The union and city officials responded with a new offer last week, calling for a special vote with just 24 hours of notice. It included the same annual pay increases teachers are getting over the course of the three-year contract. It raised the top pay for the most senior members by $10,000 and increased compensation for therapists with masters degrees. Officials also pledged to extend family medical leave benefits to therapists, a key demand.

The contract for the Occupational and Physical therapists passed Thursday with 957 votes to 853.

A UFT spokesperson said the union strived to get the best deal for its members. "While negotiations are confidential, the end result was a higher top salary, which the members then ratified," the spokesperson said. 

But some therapists said the contract remains unfair, because longtime teachers, social workers and speech pathologists still make more. They note that the increase in top pay for therapists comes at the expense of new hires, who will see their salaries increase more slowly.

"It feels that our work is undervalued and by extension it feels like an undervaluation of the children that we work with who are children with disabilities," said physical therapist Judith Loebl.